Council candidate: Ted Milner

What music are you listening to these days?
I listen to lots of stuff like Coldplay,
Supertramp, but mostly I listen to Ali Milner.

Favourite recreational pursuits:
Skiing, golf, and boating

1. Why are you running for council?

I am running for council because I am very concerned about our
capital projects, which I believe we must control and better manage, both as to
cost overruns and to timing. I do not want these special big projects to impact
our core services like utilities, parks, and recreating, all of which make
Whistler Whistler.

2. Given that revenue from development is declining and the
municipality is more dependent on hotel tax revenue at a time of economic
uncertainty, how do you propose the municipality balance its budgets the next
few years?

Like I said to the first question, if we can control,
prioritize, manage and time our capital projects and control cost overruns, then
we can run a tight shop to maintain and nurture our core services, utilities
and property support. That is what taxes are supposed to be for.

3. What other important issues does Whistler face in the
next three years and what needs to be done to address those issues?

I think we need to find a permanent solution to seasonal
employee rental housing. I have been coming here since 1975, and every fall
there is a pile of kids who cannot find a place to live.

I do not believe the athletes’ village accommodation is going
to do it. I think we need a permanent, ongoing solution that is not shipping
containers, and we have the money. Regardless of WHA staff concerns, a
refinancing of the existing rental portfolio is very possible and can provide
the accommodation we need.

The other issue is arts and culture. What I would like to help
foster is cultural tourism in a marketing approach that brings all the
providers together under an umbrella and markets our products and services
directly to our guests. If we better market our resort and expand our revenues,
everyone wins.